1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coupler for attaching an accessory, such as an excavator bucket, to an excavator arm on an excavator. In particular it relates to a fully automatic coupler for attachment, at its top half, to an excavator arm, and having, in its bottom half, two jaws and two latches for selectively securing, and releasing, two attachment pins of an accessory in, or from, the jaws of the coupler.
2. Description of Related Art
Many couplers for attaching accessories to excavator arms of an excavator have been developed. Many of those have been manual or semi-automatic, requiring one or more manual step to be carried out at the coupler in order to complete or commence the attachment or removal of an accessory onto or from the coupler. An increasing drive, however, is to provide fully automatic couplers which allow the full securement and release of an accessory to and from the coupler by the operator from within the cab of the excavator via controls provided in the cab.
With any coupler, it is possible to use them incorrectly. Therefore it is possible that an accessory might not be fully, and securely, fastened onto the coupler. Such situations can lead to dangers, not only for the operator, but also for bystanders. That is because such an incorrectly mounted accessory can potentially fall off the coupler if the error is not noted and corrected. It would be desirable, therefore, to develop a coupler which will reduce or eliminate the opportunities for an operator to make an error that could cause such dangerous situations to arise.